Welcome back all! We had a busy weekend in the world of college hoops as pretty much the entire top 25 was in action. There were several upsets, and plenty of movement throughout the rankings as teams continue to jostle for position before conference tournaments. There is plenty to cover so let's jump right into it:
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The top 4 remained the same, as #1 Baylor, #2 Kansas, #3 (& still unbeaten) San Diego State, and #4 Gonzaga all continue to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. It may be a wide-open season, but these four seem to have an edge - at least at the moment - for the four 1-seeds. They all remained locked into the top 4.
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Duke is up a spot after getting a huge win over Florida State in ACC play, as the Dukies are now 22-3 overall and in the mix for a #1-seed. One of the surprises of the season, the Dayton Flyers, continue to fly along, and are up to #5 after remaining unbeaten in A-10 play, getting a big victory over second place Rhode Island in the process.
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Despite the loss at Duke, FSU is still 21-4 on the season, and remained at #8 this week. They are joined in the top 10 by the top-team in the top-rated conference in the country, the Maryland Terrapins, who check-in at #7 this week. The Terps are also in the mix for a 1-seed after getting a huge road victory at Michigan State over the weekend. Rounding out the top 10 are the Auburn Tigers up two spots to #9, despite a surprising 12-point loss at Missouri over the weekend & the red-hot Penn State Nittany Lions. PSU has won 8 straight and continue to push Maryland in the Big TEN while rising 7 spots this week to #10.
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While Penn State may be red-hot as of late, but the Louisville Cardinals had a very chilly week. First they were held to 58 in a loss at GT, and then were blown out by Clemson over the weekend. The two surprising losses dropped the Cardinals 6 spots from #5 down to #11. Seton Hall also had a tough week, dropping a pair of games, but remained at #12, thanks to continuing to sit atop the Big East.
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Creighton, Kentucky, and Villanova are all quickly closing in on the Pirates, however, and comprise #s 13-15, respectively, in this week's rankings. The Blue Jays were the big mover of the week, as they jumped 11 spots all the way up to #13. Kentucky is now alone atop the SEC - 1 game clear of both Auburn & LSU in league play.
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Rounding out the top 20 are West Virginia, down 6 spots to #16 after dropping a pair to the cream of the Big XII in Kansas & Baylor, Marquette into the rankings at #17 as they look to build off of their recent play, including a 19-point blowout of Butler, followed by Iowa, up a pair of spots to #18, and then a pair of quality Pac-12 teams in Oregon & Colorado at 19 & 20, respectively.
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Fellow Pac-12 foe Arizona joins the Ducks & Buffaloes in the rankings, as they remained at #23 this week. Butler remained at 21 after a surprising home loss over the weekend to Georgetown. The Bulldogs are starting to look a bit over-seeded by the committee at the moment, as they are not looking like a top-16 team as of late.
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Rounding out the top 25 2nd edition, are the LSU Tigers, the final ranked team out of the SEC this week, down 6 spots to #24. Meanwhile Houston joins Marquette as the other newcomer to the rankings this week, landing at #25, while continuing to sit atop the American Athletic Conference.
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Illinois & Northern Iowa dropped out, but still find themselves in the "next" category of teams just outside of the top 25. Joining the Illini & Panthers in the "next" group are: Texas Tech, Liberty, Rutgers, and quickly re-emerging Ohio State & USC - both of whom have endured up-and-down seasons to this point, that happen to be back on the up swing at the moment.
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There was plenty to cover, but we made it through, without further ado, let's take a look at the @sportsguychris Ultimate College Hoops Top 25 - 2nd edition - for this week:
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Ultimate College Hoops Top 25
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1 BAYLOR (23-1)
2 KANSAS (22-3)
3 SAN DIEGO STATE (26-0)
4 GONZAGA (26-1)
5 DAYTON (23-2)
6 DUKE (22-3)
7 MARYLAND (21-4)
8 FLORIDA ST. (21-4)
9 AUBURN (22-3)
10 PENN STATE (20-5)
11 LOUISVILLE (21-5)
12 SETON HALL (18-7)
13 CREIGHTON (20-6)
14 KENTUCKY (20-5)
15 VILLANOVA (19-6)
16 WEST VIRGINIA (18-7)
17 MARQUETTE (17-7)*
18 IOWA (18-8)
19 OREGON (20-6)
20 COLORADO (20-6)
21 BUTLER (19-7)
22 ARIZONA (18-7)
23 MICHIGAN STATE (17-9)
24 LSU (18-7)
25 HOUSTON (20-6)*
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*-New to the rankings this week
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Dropped Out:
19 Illinois, 25 Northern Iowa
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Next:
Northern Iowa (22-4), Texas Tech (16-9), Illinois (16-9), Liberty (24-3), Rutgers (18-8), Ohio State (17-8), USC (19-7)
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As always, I appreciate the support, and look forward to rolling out my "bubble" updates & tournament projections coming later this week. I would also love to get your thoughts in the comments section below - would you have any else ranked?
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Chris Elgersma
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You can find me on IG & YouTube @sportsguychris
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I'll be providing weekly top 25 rankings, NCAA tournament projections, and "bubble" assessments as we get closer to the Big Dance. Be sure to check back for plenty of college hoops coverage & everything else in the world of sports!
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